Josh Elander is hiring East Carolina’s Austin Knight as Tennessee baseball’s new pitching coach, FOX Sports Knoxville’s Russel SMith first reported and multiple source confirmed to RTI on Saturday morning.
Knight just finished his seventh season at East Carolina and his fifth season as the program’s pitching coach. The Pirates ranked 20th nationally in ERA (4.23), 25th nationally in WHIP (1.34) and 28th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.54) during the 2026 season.
East Carolina has frequently had strong pitching staffs under Knight’s guidance ranking eighth nationally in ERA (4.05), 11th nationally in WHIP (1.29) and 17th nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.59) during the 2024 season.
The Pirates 2023 pitching staff ranked 21st nationally in ERA (4.34), fifth nationally in WHIP (1.28) and fourth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.10).
Knight has coached a number of highly touted pitchers in his career, most notably Trey Yesavage— a first round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft and the Toronto Blue Jays game one starter in last October’s World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yesavage was the second youngest pitcher ever to start in game one of the World Series.
More From RTI: Tennessee Baseball Starting Infielder Plans On Enter Transfer Portal
Tennessee got an upfront look at Knight’s work in the NCAA Tournament when the Vols scored just three runs in 14 innings in the 7-3 loss against the Pirates. East Carolina used top pitchers Ryan Towers and Ethan Norby in the tournament opening matchup.
Knight replaces Josh Reynolds as Tennessee’s pitching coach. Reynolds spent just one year in role, moving into the head pitching coach position in November after Frank Anderson left for a position with the San Fransisco Giants.
Tennessee’s pitching staff took a major step back during the 2026 season, ranking 49th nationally in team-ERA. This comes after Tennessee’s pitching staff had ranked in the top 20 nationally in team-ERA each of the last seven seasons. The Vols’ inability to develop quality bullpen depth was one of their pitfalls in Josh Elander’s first season as head coach.
Prior to his time at East Carolina, spent two years as a volunteer assistant coach at Louisiana Tech. A 33-year old, Knight lacks the veteran experience that Frank Anderson provided Tony Vitello. However, Knight has half a decade of successful pitching coach experience.
Knight does have ties to the SEC, catching at Ole Miss from 2012-15. Knight is a Hattiesburg, Mississippi native.
